Okay, Okay, It has been a while since I have posted, but please forgive me, it gets really busy around here with the 7 kids! I have been trying to get my business off the ground, and just running this household is a 24hr job!

Anyway, the focus of this post is my youngest son, Justice. His hair is loced and has been for just about a year now too. His locs were started from just about an inch of hair, and it has been interesting to see the transition of his hair.

Here is a pic of his hair in the beginning

The biggest obstacle has been keeping his hair free of lint and debris, because as you can imagine, he is a VERY active boy! I used to spend a lot of time trying to keep his locs neat and in order, but I realized pretty quickly that I just needed to let him go and to not worry too much about it. I found that simple water, a bit of honey if needed, and a lot of ‘leavin it alone’, has done wonders in his growth process. Now that they are formed, I am just latching once every 4-5 months, in fact, this is my MO for every one in the house that has mature locs, myself included.

I am amazed at his growth over the last year! You guys tell me what you think!

I am trying to post more often, because I realize that I have a lot of hair to do and there is a lot that I actually can say! Plus the kids are getting more and more interested in the blog, hence more willing subjects!

My stepson Qadry is the subject today. I have been going through some pictures, and man- how is is grown! We have all been living together since he was nine and I had to look back and smile- I see the man that he is becoming.

Qadry is a quiet child-very introspective, but he has a smile that can light up a room. As he is getting older, sometimes it is hard to get out the smile….he’s got to be chill…..lol!

He is the epitomy an old West Indian saying “Still rivers run deep” . He doesn’t say very much, but we know there is a lot going on in there!

He has a tighter coil pattern (more like mine) than his father or his brothers so it has been a longer journey for him to see the results of his hair growth.

It is more of a challenge to get him to take care of his hair but that is because he is only 12, but I will say that he is very dedicated to the process and wants to be able to wear cornrows. We are almost there. In fact, we were there a few weeks back, and in his careful grooming of his hair, he unfortunately tried to trim the cornrows…..and cut out spots in his head- some right down to the scalp.

It is a little set back, but his hair is growing out again and we are just putting in comb coils and twists until we get the his hair to a braidable length all the way round again.

He made the decision to grow out his hair, I guess because he was watching us all start to do so. He also has a love affair with different braid styles and wanted to try them too. He does not want to loc his hair yet, and we are fine with that. We can express the natural beauty of our hair in so many different ways, and I it gives me great pleasure to cornrow too. You will start to see the different styles coming soon because I also cornrow my oldest stepson’s hair Akeem. He too has just been growing out his hair and it is at a great braid length. I am starting to get the pics together…More to come I promise! I still have all the kids to introduce to you all.

Last night, I did put some two strand twists in his hair after a wash and condition. I am stepping up my game in maintenance, it is on going battle against the harsh Canadian winter to keep our hair moisturized.

His hair and scalp were very dry so we washed and deep conditioned. Then I twisted it while wet and added a mix of homemade pomade that I use. I try to make all our haircare products, I find that that more natural the products, the better for our hair results for our hair! I use pure shea butter, coconut oil, olive oil and an essential oil for scent and rub it into his scalp.

I also use this mix as a overall cream for my skin.

It is a funny thing because I use different moisturizers depending on whose hair I am doing. The pomade seems to work best in loose hair and sparingly on dreads, because of the shea butter causing buildup….not something we want!

Happy new year everyone! It has been a few weeks, but with this busy holiday season, the seven kids and a bout of the flu, I unfortunately was taken out of commission for a little while! Nonetheless, I have some new pics and new subjects for you to check out. This is my hubby Hassan, who made the decision to loc his hair early in the month of Dec. I am absolutely amazed at how his hair has taken to the process of locing. He has a looser curl pattern than mine, so I thought that it would be more difficult to form the helix, but his hair has taken beautifully. It does unravel, and I had to restart him once, ( he washed his hair AND used conditioner…..) but I just restarted it using a latch technique versus the two strand twists that I originally applied. Once we got past this hurdle….all has well and his hair is responding by leaps and bounds!

Here are some pics, starting with the before shots:

This was him before the process began…very “Corporate”. Then he decided that he should be judged on his merit, not his hairstyle. Fast forward to Dec 07:

This was his hair after the wash and condition fiaso….enough said.

This was after it was latched the next round…

A close up of how they are looking now….

And this is his hair as of today Jan 5th. It is constricting on itself so it looks thinner…..

I am very excited to have this blog. Although I have been loced for two years (did not take enough pics though…) I am happy to announce that the influence has been positive on my children and my partner. They have decided to join the ‘natural movement’ and have all made the decision to loc their hair or wear natural styles. This blog is going to be a record of our journeys and also of my new business as a loctitian -protective hairstylist. I want this place to be a celebration of our hair and because I did not take enough pictures in the beginning, I don’t want to make that mistake again with the others!

A little about us….we are a big blended family of nine. My husband Hassan and I have been together for the last 5 years and have our 7 kids all in tow. We are truly one big happy family that has come together and has managed to grow strong together as well. It has been an eventful journey, but one of evolution and great love. My husband Hassan has helped root my spirit and has been a great protector, a fantastic advisor that has been instrumental in allowing me to bring myself closer to God- closer to my true self. I love him dearly for this.

We have a rambucious and tenacious group of kids- ranging from the age of 6 to 18. There are 4 boys and 3 girls, all of which have different hair stories and I am sure, very different reasons for being in various states of locdom or natural hair. I will be introducing them to you over the course of the blog.

I have learned so much about hair and the locing process through doing my own hair and now my family’s, I have discovered that I have a true love for the cultivation of black hair. For me it is a labour of love that I am embracing and want to be able to share this knowledge with others as well, so starting a little home business that is focusing on natural styles was a natural transition. I have been braiding, twisting and cornrowing hair for my family and friends for the last 10 years so it has always been a big interest to me.

I hope that you all enjoy my little corner of the world and come along for the ride as we chronicle our story.

Now this is a picture of Hassan and the kids- and a friend of the family from our first year together. It is not the best picture, I will definately be taking some more as we go along! This picture was also taken before our lock journeys began, but I think it is good to start from the beginning. More pics to come!